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Lesina: what to know before buying a home

A municipality in the province of Foggia, Puglia. Official data on earthquakes, population, services and transport.

Liveability index free for any address

Search for an address in Lesina

The report looks at the exact point: landslide and flood risk, seismic zone, price per square metre for the area, services and nearby stops.

For example: Corso Vittorio Emanuele Secondo 1, Lesina.

Lesina, a brackish lagoon and a seaside strip on the dunes

Lesina gives its name to the coastal lake west of the Gargano headland, a brackish lagoon separated from the Adriatic by a long strip of dunes and woodland. The old town stands on a spit of land on the southern shore, almost at water level; towards the sea, on the dunes, is Marina di Lesina, made up largely of holiday homes. The lagoon is part of the Gargano National Park.

Lagoon fishing, eels above all, has shaped the town's economy and cooking, together with farming on the plain towards San Severo. The population swells in summer, and it shows in the Overture Maps data: 62 bars and restaurants, or 9.93 per 1,000 residents against 4.90 for the province of Foggia.

Buyers need to decide early how they will use the house. The town is lived in all year; at the marina many buildings close for the winter and services thin out. Either way the water is close, and flood exposure on the lake shore and the low coast should be read for the specific address: the report checks it on the official maps.

Istat, the national statistics institute, counted 6,246 residents at the end of 2023, 1.2% fewer than in 2011, with 25.1% over 65 against 23.3% in the province. Foreign residents make up 10.7%, partly linked to farm work. Average incomes are below the provincial level.

In the seventeenth century the area between San Severo and the lake was hit by a strong earthquake, and the hazard is still real. Lesina is in seismic zone 2 of the Civil Protection scale, where 1 is the highest, with expected ground acceleration of about 0.195 g; 10 municipalities in the province are in zone 1. On sandy ground close to water, foundations, design date and past work all matter for a building.

Key points

  • Old town on the lake shore, holiday homes on the dunes.
  • 62 bars and restaurants, far above the provincial rate per resident.
  • Seismic zone 2, expected acceleration about 0.195 g.
  • Lake shore and low coast: flood exposure to check.

Overview

Lesina is a municipality in the province of Foggia, in Puglia. At the end of 2023 it had 6,246 residents, ranked 18 of 61 municipalities in the province.

Earthquakes

For Italy's Civil Protection Department, Lesina is in seismic zone 2, a zone where strong earthquakes are possible. Most municipalities in the province (51 of 61) are in the same zone.

In the built-up area, the expected ground shaking (peak ground acceleration, PGA) is about 0.195 g, a medium-high value: the level with a 10% probability of being exceeded in 50 years, on rock.

For anyone buying in Lesina, the building matters a great deal: ask for the design year, whether it met the 2008 seismic standards, and whether any seismic retrofit has been carried out.

Population

Compared with the 2011 census, the resident population has fallen by 1.2%. The estimated average age is 47 years, in line with the province. 25% of residents are over 65 (the regional figure is 24%). Foreign residents make up 10.7% of the population. On average, a household has 2.1 members.

Income and climate

In tax year 2024, taxpayers in Lesina declared an average taxable income of 16,468 euros, below the provincial average (18,478 euros). The Italian average is 24,895 euros.

Lesina is in climate zone D, with 1,449 heating degree days: heating may be switched on from 1 November to 15 April, for up to 12 hours a day. The same table puts the town hall at 5 metres above sea level.

Services

In the official Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health lists, Lesina has 3 schools and 3 pharmacies. The Overture Maps data also lists 2 grocery shops and supermarkets, 4 healthcare facilities, 7 sports facilities and 3 parks and green areas.

There are 0.5 schools per 1,000 residents, fewer than the province average (0.9).

Public transport

We do not yet have open public transport timetables for this municipality: the report says so explicitly, without inventing distances.

How built-up it is

Buildings, roads, car parks and other sealed surfaces cover 3.8% of the land in Lesina, compared with 4.1% in the province and 8.2% in the region. In 2024 built-up land grew by 6.8 hectares.

Radon and contaminated sites

Lesina is not among the radon priority areas designated by the Regione Puglia in 2025. Radon varies from building to building and can only be known by measuring it, especially on ground floors and in basements.

Official databases list 2 contaminated sites, or sites still under investigation, in Lesina, and one more has been cleaned up or closed. The report tells you whether one is close to the address.

Landslides and flooding

Landslide and flood hazard changes from one street to the next even within Lesina: the report checks the address against the ISPRA maps.

House prices

The Revenue Agency's price ranges per square metre (OMI) apply to zones, not to whole municipalities: the report gives the range for the address's zone.

Land registry

The cadastral maps for Lesina are public: from the address the report finds the sheet and parcel number.

Liveability area by area

The Vicinalia liveability index runs from 0 to 100 and looks at the place, not the people who live there: services within walking distance, transport, green space, natural hazards, air, quiet, buildings and connection. Here it is worked out at the centre of each of the 48 inhabited census areas in Lesina. Half of the residents live in areas scoring 69 or more.

Residents by band

  • modest 1.4%
  • fair 8.9%
  • good 89.7%

Vicinalia index by census area, licence CC BY-SA 4.0. Data: IdroGEO ISPRA (2026), Istat, INGV, EEA, AGCOM, Overture Maps and OpenStreetMap.

The colour is the value at the centre of the area. For an exact address, search for it above: the free check looks at that exact point. How the index is worked out

Data sources

ISTAT code 071027. The text on this page is generated automatically from the data.